Ex-club owners sue city for discrimination

**kraig** · May-21-09, 11:24 AM

May 21, 2009

Ex-club owners sue city for discrimination

BY BEN SCHMITT
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Three owners of a former downtown Detroit nightclub sued the city Wednesday, accusing the head of the city's building department of squeezing them for contributions to then-Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's campaign fund and harassing them with unfair ordinance violations because two of its owners are white.
The owners of the Rhino, in the neighborhood formerly known as Harmonie Park, also testified in November before a federal grand jury, which is investigating city corruption.
Wednesday's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleges racial discrimination because the building's landlords -- the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the Detroit Downtown Development Authority -- wanted a black-owned business to occupy the space. Two owners, Mark Hausner and Don Baer, are white. The suit seeks an unspecified amount in damages.
According to the lawsuit, on June 6, 2007, the owners got notice that their licensing permits would be suspended for alleged code violations, "despite the fact that other restaurants in the area, which were majority black-owned, were not being treated in the same manner."
Hausner, Baer and a third owner, Jeff Emery, claim Amru Meah, a Kilpatrick appointee who headed the city's building department, offered to help them with permit and licensing problems if they bought tickets totaling $6,800 to attend a fund-raiser for Kilpatrick, who was then mayor.
David Steingold, a lawyer for the Rhino owners, said the club was later evicted -- he says unfairly -- by the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation -- a quasi-government agency -- in a rent dispute, even after the owners bought the tickets.
"This also is clearly a case where our clients were deliberately excluded from this new business entertainment district, in large part because the ownership was two-thirds Caucasian," he said.
Meah has previously denied the allegations. Krystal Crittendon, the city's corporation counsel, could not be reached for comment.
Contact BEN SCHMITT: 313-223-4296 or bcschmitt@freepress.com

I don't know if it was racism, but, they did get squeezed for a lot of money. I hope they get whatever they have coming to them.

**wolverine** · May-21-09, 11:52 AM

Maybe I don't know the whole story, but it seems a lot of those citations were warranted elsewhere.

**Russix** · May-21-09, 12:31 PM

What? Kwame racist? Never!

**exdetroiter** · May-21-09, 12:31 PM

Did anyone notice Amru Meah is the unqualified young lady that Steve Wilson covered last week, due to her not being qualified for the position with the City?

**jt1** · May-21-09, 12:41 PM

Amru is neither a she or young. You are speaking about his daughter. He however was a slappy for KK and certainly seems to lack any ethics or integrity when it comes to his job and doing what KK wanted.

**exdetroiter** · May-21-09, 01:14 PM

Thanks, but I wasn't too far off. I remember the name from that investigation.

**Detroitej72** · May-21-09, 06:53 PM

Wow, what a shock, racism works both ways!

MIRepublic · May-21-09, 08:52 PM

Two of the three owners are white, thus the city tried to shake them down. So, the city purposefully went out of their way to also hurt the one black owner so they could get the two other white owners. Really? They are going to have to do better than that. Any stick to beat a horse, though, huh? Let's throw everything and see what sticks.

Why didn't all three bring this up back in November when they went before the grand jury on this? I guess, sometimes, the smell of money takes a while to make it down the block.

BTW, Russix, Kilpatrick was a lot of things, most of them far from good and wholesome, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find a majority to say that he held an inherently racist worldview and philosophy. I think people often forget where much of Kilpatricks big-time support, money, and connections came from and what kind of person and politician when his colleagues chose him as minority leader in the state house. It was always kind of something that he was able to trick so many Detroiters, because this guy was about as unlike them as any out-city politician.

**DetroitBill** · May-26-09, 12:52 PM

I really dont know if was primarily because of racism or more importantly , they did not want to contribute to KK.. probably a blend of both , more likely more of the later. The city is in real bad shape if it wants to discrimate retail/restaurant business because of color. Its funny,, the mirror really does work both ways.

**exdetroiter** · May-26-09, 01:11 PM

I don't think it was discrimination. Kwame ran the city like a drug cartel. He was shacking everybody down that he could and the good ones twice. He only used the race card to defined himself and raise an upstir to those ignorant enough to fall for it. Nonetheless, the same person using the race card was carried off into the sunset by one of the richest white men in our state, so Kwame actually used everyone to for his benefit. The club owners do have a viable lawsuit, but I don't think it should have been based upon discrimination, plus it should have included Kilpatrick as a joint Defendant.

Retroit · May-26-09, 01:34 PM

I hope they win. It's ironic that blacks who faced and fought against discrimination in the past are now committing the very same discriminations against whites. Is it time for whites to have a civil rights march in Detroit?

**exdetroiter** · May-26-09, 02:22 PM

Which blacks that participated in the Civil Rights Movement is doing the same thing as whites? I hope its not a learned behavior.

**Dan** · May-26-09, 02:30 PM

The Steve Wilson story last week was about Amru's daughter.

**jt1** · May-26-09, 02:40 PM

Why is it when black people claim racism this board is skeptical but if a failing white business owner claims racism it is assuemd to be fact?

**kraig** · May-26-09, 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by jt1

Why is it when black people claim racism this board is skeptical but if a failing white business owner claims racism it is assuemd to be fact?

What are you talking about? I think there has been more skepticism than acceptance as far as the racial component is concerned when you look at the other posts. However, I think the part that we can all agree on is the fact that Kwame and crew were shakedown artists.

4real · May-27-09, 10:35 AM

Kwame learned the shakedown trick from who?
Jesse Jackson and his parents?

**kraig** · May-27-09, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by 4real

Kwame learned the shakedown trick from who?
Jesse Jackson and his parents?

That line forms to the left and includes politicians, businessmen, religious leaders, mobsters, gangsters, hookers, thugs, husbands, wives, siblings, etc. back to the time that mankind first learned to communicate with one another.

And yeah, Jesse Jackson and his parents too.

**WolverinesA2** · May-27-09, 10:46 AM

Originally Posted by MIRepublic

BTW, Russix, Kilpatrick was a lot of things, most of them far from good and wholesome, but I think you'll be hard pressed to find a majority to say that he held an inherently racist worldview and philosophy.

Did you forget the racial comments made by Kwame during that little shoving incident with a Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy and a court employee? He berated the black court employee for working with a white man, saying "How can a black woman be riding in a car with a man named White?"

**exdetroiter** · May-27-09, 11:15 AM

Kwame is a racist, but obviously he downplays that at the right moments. Look how Karmonos came in with his cape and put Kwame right back on the thrown that he slipped off of.

Nextly, I am not a fan of Jessie Jackson, but I don't think he thought Kwame anymore than he talk any of you on this site. Kwame learned his behavior from his low lifed parents.

**kraig** · May-27-09, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by exdetroiter

Kwame is a racist, but obviously he downplays that at the right moments. Look how Karmonos came in with his cape and put Kwame right back on the thrown that he slipped off of.

Nextly, I am not a fan of Jessie Jackson, but I don't think he thought Kwame anymore than he talk any of you on this site. Kwame learned his behavior from his low lifed parents.

Jesse Jackson is one of the biggest shakedown artist out there. Pulpit Pimp to a T. Don't forget, one of Jesse's hang out partner's is our good buddy Lonnie Bates.